Texas could eliminate sales tax on silver and gold

Buying your own pot o’ gold – or even just a few coins – could get a little cheaper for Texans.

Texas could be the first state in the country to eliminate sales taxes on gold and silver coins.

Under current state law, the 6.25 percent sales tax applies to purchases of gold and silver coins under $1,000. But House Bill 78, which was passed by the Texas Senate on Tuesday and awaits Gov. Rick Perry’s signature, eliminates the sales tax, “making it more economically feasible for lower and middle income Texans,” the bill’s analysis reads.

Texas would be the first state to fully expand a tax exemption for gold and silver coins, said Rich Danker, executive director at the Washington, D.C.-based American Principals in Action, which lobbies in Texas and elsewhere for monetary reform.

“It’s really a populist move by the Texas Legislature,” said Danker, who testified in a hearing on the bill. “The $1,000 threshold prevented the small time average citizen from acquiring the coins because the taxes can be pretty hefty. We believe anyone should be able to own and acquire gold and silver currency; it’s in the U.S. Constitution.”

With a declining dollar and expanding inflation, Danker said that investing in gold and silver is the best solution around for middle class economic revival.